Rare Earth Elements (REEs) REEs
REEs
Context:
On the sidelines of the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) in New Delhi, India and the United States firmed up a critical bilateral framework to secure resilient supply chains for rare earth elements (REEs) and strategic metals.
Facts for Prelims:
REEs comprise a distinct suite of 17 chemically similar metallic elements, specifically including the 15 lanthanides on the periodic table, plus scandium and yttrium.
They are divided into Light REEs (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium) and Heavy REEs (dysprosium, terbium).
Despite their name, they are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust but are rarely found in concentrated, economically viable mineral deposits.
Critical minerals are metallic or non-metallic elements (lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and REEs) that are essential for modern technology and national security but face significant supply chain vulnerabilities.
The Government of India has notified a list of 30 Critical Minerals.
These elements are the foundational building blocks for:
Green-energy infrastructure
Advanced computing, required to manufacture electric vehicle (EV) batteries
Solar panels
Wind turbine permanent magnets
Semiconductor chips
Defense guidance electronics